Coleman tents · Vs review
Coleman Tents V.S. Ozark Trail Tents (REAL Pictures!)
I own 14 Coleman tents and an Ozark Trail Cabin 10. 10 side-by-side tests, all my own.
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Coleman14 of them, tested
- Rain test10-35 min
- Waterproofing450-1000mm
- Lifespan~4-5 yrs
- Warranty1 year
Ozark TrailWalmart's house brand
- Rain test10 min light
- WaterproofingNone rated
- Lifespan~1-2 yrs
- Warranty6 months
The short answer
You get what you pay for.
My Ozark Trail Cabin 10 cost about $100 against the $250 to $350 I paid for my 10-person Colemans, and it is genuinely fine in fair weather. But it isn't a rain tent at all. Its fabric soaked through in 15 minutes of light-to-moderate rain, where my Sundomes hold 30 to 35 minutes of heavy pouring rain. Coleman wins on waterproofing, features, quality and lifespan; Ozark Trail wins on price, and that's it.
Side by side
Where they actually differ
| Tested | Coleman | Ozark Trail |
|---|---|---|
| Rain test | 10-30 minutes of heavy rainInstant 10; Sundomes hold 30-35 | 10 minutesAnd that was mostly light rain |
| Fabric waterproofing | 450-1000mmDry for 45 min to an hour of heavy rain | No rating I could findSoaked in 15 minutes |
| Taped seams | NoInverted instead | NoInverted instead |
| Doors (10-person) | 2One a hinged D-door | 1No hinged door |
| Windows | Large, and plenty of them | Small and few |
| Pole sleeves | Short and snag-free | Long and snaggy |
| Pole colour-coding | SomeRed band on the WeatherMaster's middle pole | NoneAll black |
| Room divider | Zip down the middle | No zipYou climb over |
| Stitching | Fewer loose threads, smaller holes | Loose threads, big guyline holes |
| Door zippers | Barely snag once you learn the rain cover | Snagged every single time |
| Lifespan | ~4-5 years3-4 years in, no sticky fabric, no rust | ~1-2 yearsSticky fabric and rusting poles after a year |
| Warranty | 1 year | 6 months |
| What I paid (10-person) | $250-$350 | About $100Less than half |
✓ = the better result, from my own testing. Materials are actually much the same on both: polyethylene flooring, 68 to 75D polyester body and rainfly. The differences are in the waterproofing, the making and the features.
Which applies to you?
Get this one if…
Buy Coleman if…
- You expect rain. This is the whole difference.
- You want the tent to last: 4 to 5 years against 1 to 2.
- You want 2 doors and a hinged one on a 10-person tent.
- You want the longer warranty: 1 year, not 6 months.
Buy Ozark Trail if…
- You're on a really tight budget: about half the price.
- You're camping in perfect weather or the backyard.
- You want space cheaply. Mine is huge; I can't reach the ceiling.
- You'll take care of it and accept a few seasons, not a decade.
Rain Test
| Tested | Coleman | Ozark Trail |
|---|---|---|
| Coleman Instant Tents | About 10 minutes of heavy rain10P and 4P | — |
| Coleman Sundome Tents | 30-35 minutes of heavy pouring rainRegular 6P, Dark Room 6P, Elite 6P | — |
| Ozark Trail Cabin 10 | — | About 10 minutesMostly light, some moderate, not heavy |
| Where it leaks | Tent-body-to-floor seam | Tent-body-to-floor seam |
My Coleman Instant Tents, I have the 10-person and the 4-person, held about 10 minutes of heavy rain. My Sundomes did far better: the regular 6, the Dark Room 6 and the Elite 6 all held 30 to 35 minutes of heavy pouring rain.
The Ozark Trail managed about 10 minutes, and that was mostly light rain with a bit of moderate, not heavy rain at all.
Both brands leak in the same place, through the same mistake: an inverted seam that isn't taped. In my experience taped seams keep water out far better.
Fabric Waterproofing
| Tested | Coleman | Ozark Trail |
|---|---|---|
| Waterproof rating | 450-1000mmMinimum, across my tents | None I could findFair-weather tents |
| Fabric stays dry for | 45 minutes to 1 hourOf super heavy rainfall | 15 minutesOf light to moderate rain |
Separate from the seams: this is the fabric itself. My Coleman fabric shrugs off light and moderate rain and only starts wetting out after 45 minutes to an hour of really heavy rainfall. My Ozark Trail's fabric was pretty soaked after 15 minutes of mostly light-to-moderate rain.
Without a lot of extra waterproofing, Ozark Trail tents are not meant for rain of any kind, even light rain.
Doors
| Tested | Coleman | Ozark Trail |
|---|---|---|
| Doors on a 10-person tent | 2One on each opposite wall | 1At the front |
| Hinged D-door | YesOn both my 10-person Colemans | NoOzark Trail doesn't offer it |
On a tent that sleeps ten I expect a door on each side, and both my WeatherMaster 10 and my Coleman Instant Cabin 10 have that, one of them a hinged D-door, which makes getting in and out far easier. My Ozark Trail 10 has a single front door and no hinged option at all. I compare all my tents with hinged doors separately.
Windows & Ventilation
| Tested | Coleman | Ozark Trail |
|---|---|---|
| Window size | LargeHumongous on the Instant Cabin 10 | Small |
| Windows usable in rain | YesThe WeatherMaster's 2 angled windows | NoAll must close |
My Coleman Instant Cabin 10 has huge windows on every wall, which is excellent on a hot day. The WeatherMaster's aren't as large, but two of them are big angled windows that stay open in rain. The Ozark Trail's windows are few and small, which limits hot-day airflow, and every one has to be shut when it rains.
Set Up
| Tested | Coleman | Ozark Trail |
|---|---|---|
| Pole sleeves | Short, snag-free | Long, snaggy |
| Pole colour-coding | SomeRed band on the middle wall pole | NoneAll black |
Small things, but you feel them every pitch. The Ozark Trail's pole sleeves are long and snag constantly; Coleman's are shorter and much smoother. And Coleman at least colour-codes a little, the WeatherMaster's middle wall pole has a red band, while every Ozark Trail pole is plain black.
Room Divider
| Tested | Coleman | Ozark Trail |
|---|---|---|
| Zip through the divider | Yes | NoClimb over to change rooms |
My Coleman dividers have a zip down the middle so you can walk between rooms. The Ozark Trail's doesn't. Not a glaring issue, but it's the little things that count.
Build Quality
| Tested | Coleman | Ozark Trail |
|---|---|---|
| Flooring | Polyethylene | Polyethylene |
| Body and rainfly | 68-75D polyester | 68-75D polyester |
| Loose threads | Fewer | All over the tent |
| Guyline attachment holes | Smaller | Fairly big |
| Door zippers | Rarely snag | Snagged every time |
| Inconsistent mesh | 1 tent out of 14The Montana 8 | 2 places on one tent |
The materials are basically the same on both brands. The difference is in the making. My Ozark Trail has loose threads all over it, fairly big holes where the guylines attach, a door zipper that snagged from outside every single time I opened it, and inconsistent mesh in two places.
My Colemans have fewer loose threads, smaller stitching holes, and door zippers that barely snag once you get used to the rain cover. Out of 14 Coleman tents only one (the Montana 8) came with that odd inconsistent mesh.
Lifespan
| Tested | Coleman | Ozark Trail |
|---|---|---|
| How long I've had them | 3-4 years | A year and a bit |
| Fabric degradation | NoneNo stickiness at all | Sticky fabric |
| Steel poles | Still fineWeatherMaster, no rust | RustingDespite drying before packing |
| Expected lifespan | ~4-5 years | ~1-2 years |
After a year and a bit my Ozark Trail's fabric had started to degrade and go a little sticky, and its steel wall poles were showing rust even though I dried them before packing.
I've had some Colemans for 3 to 4 years with no sticky fabric at all, and the WeatherMaster's steel poles are still fine. I once packed a Coleman away while it was still wet, opened it months later, and found no mould.
Price
| Tested | Coleman | Ozark Trail |
|---|---|---|
| What I paid (10-person) | $250-$350 | About $100Less than half |
| Where they're made | China or Bangladesh | China or BangladeshWalmart's house brand |
This is Ozark Trail's one clear win, and it's a big one. I paid $250 to $350 for each of my 10-person Colemans and about $100 for the Ozark Trail Cabin 10, and that's one of Ozark Trail's highest-rated, most popular tents. Both brands keep prices down the same way: the tents are made in China or Bangladesh.
Warranty
| Tested | Coleman | Ozark Trail |
|---|---|---|
| Warranty | 1 year | 6 monthsVia Walmart |
Coleman warranties its tents for a year. Walmart gives Ozark Trail six months.
My recommendation
Here's the bottom line. Ozark Trail makes some of the least expensive family camping tents on the market, and the waterproofing, features, quality and lifespan all reflect that. Coleman costs more and gives you better waterproofing, better features and a better-built tent. Basically, you get what you pay for.
I lean Coleman. I've used their gear since I was a kid and I've had great value out of my tents. But I'd happily recommend an Ozark Trail if you're on a really tight budget and camping only in good weather. Mine is perfectly functional for fair-weather or backyard camping: it's hugely spacious, I can't even reach the ceiling, the pitch and pack are simple, and with a bit of care you'll get a good few trips out of it.
Full reviews: the Ozark Trail Cabin 10, the Coleman Instant Cabin 10 and the Coleman WeatherMaster 10.
Bonus: See all my Coleman testing in the best Coleman tents.
Every figure on this page comes from my own measurements of the tents I bought and tested.
